ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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The global food crisis of 2022-2023 is one of the largest food crises in history, affecting, according to various estimates, up to 0.828-1.72 billion people in 82 countries. Of these, 222 to 345 million were severely food insecure or severely hungry. About 19,000 people died of hunger every day in 2022. The unprecedented crisis was marked by a historic jump in the food price index - it rose by 23% from May 2021 to May 2022 to 143.7 points (and the cereal price index - by 30%).

One of the largest food crises in history is caused by a series of local and international conflicts, economic shocks, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, global warming and natural disasters, and rising fertilizer prices. The sharp rise in food prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to a 71.5 million increase in the number of people below the poverty line worldwide and 47 million more hungry. As the conflicting countries accounted for about 29 percent of world wheat trade, the decline in exports from the region, according to the International Monetary Fund, significantly worsened the food situation in 48 countries. The top ten most hungry countries included the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen, Myanmar, Syria, Sudan, Ukraine and Pakistan.

Climate change and drought in major agricultural areas have further exacerbated the food situation. For example, in some African countries, up to 30% of all households died during this time. By May 2022, a person was starving to death every 48 seconds in East Africa. At least 278 million Africans suffered from hunger in 2022, accounting for 20% of the continent’s population.

The United Nations (UN) predicts that the situation will worsen by 2030, when 8% of the world’s population will face hunger (versus 2.8% in 2022).

Causes

Russia's Invasion of Ukraine
Conflict is the leading cause of hunger in the world, with 70 percent of the world’s hungry living in war-affected zones as of 2022. The invasion of Ukraine was one of the main causes of the food crisis of 2022-2023 due to interruptions in the supply of energy, fertilizers and grains. According to the World Food Programme, the conflict has increased the number of hungry people in the world by 47 million and the number of people below the poverty line by 71.5 million. Most are in sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans and the Caspian Basin, where people are heavily dependent on food imports. With the prolongation of hostilities and disruptions from supplies from Ukraine and Russia, the number of hungry people in these regions may increase by another 8-13 million people.

Grain
Before the war, Russia and Ukraine were important players in the global food market, exporting 18% and 10% of wheat, respectively, and 14% and 12% of barley. Ukraine was the leader in the export of sunflower oil (37%), while Russia